Recent Articles: LittleBigPlanet 2

I was curled up in a ball crying by the end of the LittleBigPlanet 3 presentation at this year’s E3. I had thought about the game, but assumed it was really, really far away, or maybe not even being made at all. To be shocked with people playing it on a giant screen practically made me hyperventilate. I had pretty much the same exact reaction when Sony announced on the PlayStation Blog that LBP3 would be released November 18. That’s THIS November.

OMG.

LittleBigPlanet will be released simultaneously for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and there are tons of pre-order bonuses you can get – Sackboy plushies are just one of them (if you place your order at Target, he’ll be wearing a Target hat). Everyone who orders on PS4 will get a special Dragon Age: Inquisition costume pack. And then there are three other special packs – Mythical Creatures come with GameStop pre-orders, you’ll get Hidden Creatures at Best Buy, and my personal favorite is Amazon’s – the PlayStation Favorites. It includes the traveler from Journey! Oh, infinite squees.

They’re not leaving out the digital-only buyers, either. Those players get a special LittleBigPlanet 3 T-Shirt Pack, which they can start using right away in LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Vita, and LittleBigPlanet Karting.

I’m so excited I could cry a little. I can’t wait to meet Sackboy’s buddies on November 18th!

One of the big things that Naughty Dog has done with The Last of Us so far is emphasize the brutal nature of the world that Joel and Ellie live in. So what better way to find the humor in apocalyptic fungus than by recreating the especially violent “Truck Ambush” trailer in LittleBigPlanet 2?

In addition to announcing the “Instant Game Collection” for PlayStation Plus subscribers, Sony added a quartet of new games to the PlayStation Store late last night.

These new releases include Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, the revamped fighting game from Sega; Bang Bang Racing, a top-down racer for the whole family; Madagascar 3, the video game tie-in to this weekend’s new movie; and LittleBigPlanet 2, Sackboy’s most recent adventure.

More details on all of those games, as well as this week’s new game add-ons, can be found at the PlayStation Blog.

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Between all the free games and the ridiculously awesome sales, PlayStation Plus has always been a better subscription service than Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold. But with its latest gambit, Sony is going for the throat.

Announced last night during their E3 2012 Press Conference, starting today, PlayStation Plus will receive an “Instant Game Collection” of 12 PS3 titles. And these aren’t the dregs of the PlayStation Store either. This is good quality, amazing stuff.

Just take a look at the list of free games you’ll receive as long as you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber:

Choplifter HD

InFamous 2

Hard Corp: Uprising

Just Cause 2

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Little Big Planet 2

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One

Saints Row 2

Sideway: New York

Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone

Downloading all of these games individually from the PlayStation Store would cost over $260. So purchasing a PlayStation Plus subscription for $49.99 per year is a much better option. Especially when you add in all the other monthly bonuses a Plus subscription includes.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts handed out the 2012 BAFTA Video Game Awards in merry old England last night. And like most other award shows this year, Portal 2 came away with “Best Game” honors. Valve’s teleporting sequel also won the “Design” and Story” awards.

Other big winners include Batman: Arkham City (winner of the the “Action” award and a “Performer” award for Mark Hamill’s role as The Joker), LittleBigPlanet 2 (which took home the “Family” and “Game Innovation” awards), and Battlefield 3 (which won the “Online – Multiplayer” and “Audio Achievement” awards). Battlefield 3 was also selected by fans as the winner of this year’s GAME Award, which is sponsored by the British retailer. But with all their financial troubles, this might be the last GAME Award ever awarded.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts have announced the nominees for the 2012 BAFTA Video Game Awards. In all, 48 games were nominated in 18 categories including four new awards for this year: “Debut Game,” “Online – Browser,” “Online – Multiplayer,” and “Performer.”

Batman: Arkham City and L.A. Noire garnered the most nominations from the BAFTA board with eight apiece. Several other games have a chance to win big when the awards are handed out on March 16 including Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (six nominations), LittleBigPlanet 2 (also six), Portal 2 (five), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (five), and Deus Ex: Human Revolution (four).

Arkham City, Skyrim, L.A. Noire, and Portal 2 will be competing for the prestigious “Best Game” award along with FIFA Soccer 12 amd The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Finally, voting for the BAFTA’s yearly audience participation award, The GAME Award, is now online at BAFTAGAMEAward.com.

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The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences handed out the Interactive Achievement Awards for the 15th consecutive year on February 9 and, not surprisingly, Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim came away the big winner.

The RPG practically swept all of the major awards including Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, and Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering. It also took home RPG of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Story.

Among the other winners, Portal 2 lead the way with three awards including Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, and an Outstanding Character Performance for Wheatley. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception also took home three awards, all for Naughty Dog’s continued mastery of game graphics.

You can find the full list of winners after the break, while all the nominated games are listed here. (more…)

Starting tomorrow, gamers will be able to create levels with the PlayStation Move in inFAMOUS 2. Not only that, but starting in September, they’ll be adding a deeper functionality to the creation aspect of LittleBigPlanet 2, with and for PlayStation Move. Considering how disappointing Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves was, I’m eager to see what the community will create.